“That’s—” Patrick broke off with a sigh. “Yeah. Can’t deny that. Is your pack okay?”
The mirth in Naomi’s bright amber eyes faded into something more serious. “Everyone who fought with us came back alive.”
“Good. That’s good.”
Jono held up the keys. “Ready?”
“Is Wade?”
“My shoes are on,” Wade replied.
“Then let’s go.”
Jono turned toward the Chicago god pack alphas and extended his hand. “Thank you for your aid and hospitality.”
The formality of the goodbye had Patrick belatedly wondering if he’d somehow missed any specific pack manners when he’d arrived.
Naomi looked at Jono for a long moment before taking his hand in hers and giving it a firm shake. “Chicago will always welcome your New York City god pack, and any pack under your protection from here on out.”
“Thank you,” Jono said with a gravity to the words Patrick would appreciate more if he weren’t so tired. He knew they’d won an acceptance here they hadn’t expected to get. “We’ll extend the same courtesy to anyone from Chicago who comes to New York and keep them safe.”
Naomi offered her hand to Patrick, and he shook it, doing the same with Alejandro. The two Chicago god pack alphas escorted them out to the SUV, not bothering with small talk. Patrick was happy about that. He was even more happy that Jono was driving.
“Where am I going?” Jono asked once he started the engine and Naomi and Alejandro had retreated back inside the warmth of their pack’s home.
Patrick pulled up his GPS app and accessed the address in it from earlier in the week. He let the tinny, electronic voice fill the SUV and Jono pulled onto the street. He could hear Wade happily munching away in the back seat, having taken the bag of chips with him.
Jono turned up the heat before reaching over and settling his hand on Patrick’s thigh. “Have you eaten anything?”
“I’ve been fed,” Patrick muttered, closing his eyes and tilting the seat back a little.
“Have you been seen to by a doctor? You’re moving a bit funny.”
“Got checked out. I’m okay.”
And he was—mostly. His soul hadn’t been damaged, and being able to tap a ley line had gone a long ways toward evening out the fight against Ethan and Hannah. The aftermath of clearing Millennium Park once he’d changed clothes had taken hours, and it was still ongoing. Patrick had reported what he could to Setsuna over an unsecured line, and then again to Dabrowski in person.
Blaming the Dominion Sect for the appearance of Yggdrasil in Chicago would only give the SOA a pass for so long. The public would want to know why the agency hadn’t tracked the terrorist group down before the veil tore. Patrick knew a lot of finger-pointing was going to happen. The SOA was lucky the whole mess hadn’t turned into another Thirty-Day War.
“What about where we’re going? What do you need to do there?” Jono asked.
Patrick curled his hand over Jono’s, tucking his fingers beneath a warm palm. “I got a warrant to search the place for an item of interest.”
“You’re going to execute a warrant by yourself?”
“I’m bringing you, aren’t I?” Jono squeezed his hand, and Patrick leaned the seat back a little more. “You guys will stay in the car. I don’t anticipate there being a problem, but if there is, you’ll have my six.”
“Always,” Jono promised. Silence settled between them, and Patrick was fighting off sleep when Jono spoke up again. “I’m sorry.”
Patrick cracked open one eye, turning his head a little to look at Jono. “What?”
“For not telling you about Fenrir taking us through the veil when I met with Lucien. I meant to, but you were going to walk out of the hotel room, and I…”
Jono’s voice trailed off, and Patrick opened both his eyes. “I would’ve come back.”
The words came easily to his lips. Patrick hoped Jono could smell the truth on him, because he meant it. Soulbond aside, walking away from Jono wasn’t an option. Jono’s grip on Patrick’s thigh tightened.
“Jono.” Patrick waited until the other man looked at him. “I would have come back.”
